Glencore seeks to pull out of nickel mine in New Caledonia

On Monday, Glencore launched a call for bidders for its shares in the Koniambo nickel mine in New Caledonia. The Swiss miner and trading house Glencore operates the mine on behalf of Société minière du Sud du Pacifique, which holds a 51% majority stake. The two partners have agreed to shelve the site, which is persistently loss-making, the Zug-based multinational said in a press release. Glencore points out that it has invested more than four billion dollars in Koniambo since it was acquired as part of its merger with Xstrata in 2013, without ever having made a single profit. The mining and commodities trading giant stated that the assistance offered by the French government would not have enabled the site to become profitable again, given the high operating costs and low nickel prices. Glencore has undertaken to maintain all jobs for a period of six months, the length of time it plans to keep the site in a state of lethargy, without elaborating on the rest of the scenario. How we ...